7 Skills You Need To Become A Front End Developer
The front end developer does one of the most important jobs in the software world, presenting the system running in the background to the user in the best way possible. Front end developers, who are especially experts in HTML, CSS and JavaScript languages, are responsible for creating a web site that is suitable for the design and works .
If you are also interested in this popular profession, you may want to learn about which subjects you need to improve yourself. Here are 7 skills that aspiring front end developers should acquire.
1) HTML/CSS
HTML and CSS , the inseparable duo of the software world, are also an indispensable part of front end developer advertisements. HTML, aka HyperText Markup Language, allows us to create web pages as the standard markup language. CSS, on the other hand, consists of the initials of the words Cascading Style Sheets. It helps us determine how the web page we created with HTML will look like. Layout, colors, fonts, i.e. the whole style can be created here.
2) JavaScript/jQuery
Another thing that front end developers should know is JavaScript (JS). While HTML and CSS are concerned with the presentation of the page, JS determines the functions of the page. Sometimes a stylish presentation of the content of the page is enough for successful web design, but on some websites you may need interactive features. At this point, JavaScript comes to the rescue.
The jQuery library for JavaScript helps you add a large number of plugins and extensions to your site easily and quickly. Learning JavaScript can mean being able to use the jQuery library effectively.
3) CSS and JavaScript Platforms
We talked about CSS and JavaScript earlier. However, instead of starting with an empty text document, starting with a code file containing functional codes will greatly facilitate your work. You will need to use different platforms for this. Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses. The important thing is to determine the needs of the platform you are working on and to choose the right platform.
Moreover, you can use different platforms together. The most popular platform pair is Bootstrap , which combines JS and CSS codes, and AngularJS , a JS platform. However, new platforms are constantly being developed. It is useful to keep your knowledge of the sector up to date.
4) CSS Preprocessing
As we can see, CSS is essential for front end developers. However, CSS can sometimes limit your work. The reasons for these limitations include not being able to specify variables, functions, and not being able to perform arithmetic operations. Especially in large projects, you will need to find solutions to avoid writing the same codes all the time.
Like CSS platforms, CSS preprocessing is among the things that make a developer's life easier. You can lighten your workload by using one of the CSS pre-processors like Sass, LESS or Stylus. You can easily convert the codes you write in the pre-render into CSS codes that will run on your website.
5) Version Check/Go
As you develop the codes you write with HTML, CSS and JS, you will accumulate many versions. This is so normal. If something goes wrong during your work, the last thing you want to do is start writing all the code from scratch. Version control keeps track of your changes and gives you easy access to previous versions.
Version control software like Git helps you with this. Learn to use these software without wasting time.
6) Responsive Design
Websites are visited from devices with screens of various sizes. A website designed for desktop can present a completely distorted image on a small-screen smartphone. Sometimes even functions become obsolete.
For this reason, front end developers need to create designs suitable for different screen sizes. We call these designs responsive design.
7) Test/Debug
Every developer encounters mistakes in his working life. The global name for these errors is bugs and the debugging work is known as debugging. It will be beneficial for you to get used to these terms from the beginning. There are different test methods for web development. Functional testing looks at your site's functions and tests whether your code is fully working. Unit testing, on the other hand, tests small test pieces that are responsible for a certain thing on your site and individually tests their impact on the site's operation.
Testing is an important part of the front end developer's work. Errors that occur during the test must be removed so that your site can work with full functionality.
